Firefly
by cristinaN
Summary: She was dying and had accepted her fate. He was a lonely soul only existing, never truly living. He refused to let her die, and she refused to let him in.


**Disclaimer All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and****StillDreaming85****.**

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"**Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it."**

**-Ann Landers**

**Bella's Pov**

"Bella, please reconsider. It pains me to let walk out of here knowing I can help you," Dr. Brendon said.

"I don't want the chemo. Why bother?"

"Because it will prolong your life, and it may give us more time to find a donor."

"If we haven't found one up until now, we are not going to find one from here on out. It's okay Dr. Brendon, I've accepted it." I said, placing my hand over his.

He was an elderly man in his early sixties. He was an amazing and determined doctor. He refused to give up on me.

This was my seventh hospital appointment this month, and at every single one of them, Dr. Brendon brought up the same conversation, chemotherapy and every time I refused.

My name is Isabella Swan and I have a T-lymphocyte dysfunction. My body does not produce the CD4 lymphocytes, Dr. Brendon believes my body has never produced them.

At my very first consultation, he said it was nothing short of a miracle that at the age of twenty-one I was still alive with no T-lymphocytes.

What all this means is, I have no immune system. My body is not capable of fighting infection or viruses like a normal person.

I need a bone marrow transplant, but we have had no luck in finding a donor and time is running out.

Without a donor, I am going to die.

I have accepted that, but Dr. Brendon refuses to accept it. He is hell bent on giving me chemo, and I am hell bent to refuse it.

"I have to go to work Dr. Brendon," I say.

He sighed, accepting defeat yet again.

"I want to see you again on Friday," he says.

I nod and offer him a smile before taking my leave. I stop at reception to make an appointment like he asked.

It was an unusually warm November day. I walked from the hospital to work.

Ever since I was diagnosed seven months ago I have looked at life differently. I would stop to admire a beautiful piece of art, walk in the beaming sunlight, hell I would walk in the rain to feel the raindrops on my skin. I did not want to take anything for granted.

Everything looked exactly the same as it did months ago only they didn't.

I started to notice things I never had before, like the direction in which way the grass grew in different areas of the park.

How no two roses smelled quite alike.

All these small insignificant things that I once took for granted, I now wanted to explore them all, but my time was running out.

I made it to Eclipse, the restaurant where I worked with only minutes to spare. It was an upscale place. Only New York's finest jackasses dined here. But I wasn't bothered by their arrogance. I did my job and paid them no mind.

"Bella," Mike, my boss, called out.

"I know I'm running late, sorry Mike," I said.

"Don't be silly. I wanted to ask you what the doctor said. Any news?" Mike asked.

Mike was a nice person, a wonderful boss. He knew about my condition. He wanted to help in any way he could, and it really affected him when he found out he was not a compatible bone marrow donor nor was his wife Jessica.

"Same thing Mike," I shrugged.

To be honest, I was sick of people asking me, how are you? How are you feeling? What have the doctors said? Any news?

I appreciate their concern, don't get me wrong, but I wish they would stop voicing it, it's bad enough I don't hear the end of it from my brother and his wife.

Work is my refuge, besides Mike, no one else here knows I'm sick or even dying, and it's…refreshing to be treated like any other person and to not be looked upon with sympathy.

Mike engulfed me in a big bear hug.

"Well, we are just going to have to pray harder," he said, kissing the top of my head.

I left Mike to change and get ready for work.

Work was going great so far, that was until I placed a drink order at the bar.

"So you and Mike hey," Lauren, my co-worker nudged me.

"Me and Mike what?" I asked, handing her the drinks order.

"Don't play dumb Bella. I saw the two of you in the staff room earlier," she said raising her brows.

Lauren, for the most part is…pleasant, however she loves to gossip and can make a big deal out of the tiniest thing.

"It was a hug Lauren, he hugs everyone. Don't let your imagination get away with you."

"He's never hugged me," she challenged.

That's because you want to get in his pants, I thought.

"Where are my drinks?" I asked tapping my fingers impatiently against the bar.

"You are no fun," Lauren said, placing the drinks on my tray.

I took my tray and left her. I liked Lauren, she is a nice person but she has no self-control sometimes, and that can make it hard to be her friend.

I delivered the drinks to my table, placed each glass on a perfect angle. Eclipse was all about perfection, right down to the smallest detail.

As I was walking back to the kitchen to check on a food order, someone grabbed my hand. I felt a jolt go through me, and my immediate reaction was to pull my hand away. However the person holding it would not let go, in fact they squeezed tighter.

I turned around to see who had grabbed me.

You know those moments in a movie where someone is rendered speechless and they stand there looking like a complete idiot? Yeah, that was me right now.

He had a light complexion.

His hair was dark.

His eyes…such an unusual shade of green and yet so captivating.

He wore a dark gray suit with a crisp white shirt with a tie.

It was not until he cleared his throat that I realized I was staring at him like a complete fool.

"Like what you see?" He asked. A smirk appeared on his lips. If I thought he was handsome before, it was nothing to the way he appeared now.

I felt my cheeks flamed. What was wrong with me? He is a customer. This has never happened to me before.

"I am very sorry," I apologized, when in reality I wanted to slap that smirk off his face.

I was beyond embarrassed and hoped Lauren was not watching otherwise she will never let me live this down.

"No need for apologies. If anyone should apologize, it should be me," he said. His voice was soft, smooth like a gentle caress.

"Why would you need to apologize?" I asked.

"I should not have grabbed your hand like that, please forgive me?"

I nodded unable to find words.

Mentally I was pulling my hair out. What on earth is wrong with me?

Snap out of it Bella, yes he is very attractive, but he is a customer and obviously a rich snob like everyone else in here. With that in mind, I shook myself off and managed to regain my composure.

"How may I help you sir?" I asked.

He opened and closed his mouth, and then let out a small laugh.

Was he laughing at me?

What was it he found so funny right now?

"I would like a bottle of Dom J.F. Maugnier Le Musigny," he said in perfect French.

My dry mouth parted slightly. That voice, the way that he spoke. Pull it together Bella, I mentally slapped myself.

"Of course sir," I said.

I turned on my heel, ready to leave his presence so that I could gain some focus, but he grabbed a hold of my hand once more.

I slowly turned to face him again.

He brought my hand to his lips, placing a small kiss on the back. I was as red as a tomato, I didn't need anyone to tell me that I could feel it.

"Don't call me sir," he said.

"Excuse me?" I looked at him confused.

"My name is Edward. Might I have the pleasure of knowing your name?" He asked, his voice smooth and laced with confidence.

I was at a loss for words. I was suddenly nervous. My stomach felt as if it were tied in knots.

He was staring at me, looking at me right in my eyes with such an intense and heated expression.

What was his problem, what was he playing at?

Was he one of those men that thought he could have anyone and everyone? He sure looked like someone who thought they were above the rest of us.

I pulled my hand away from him swiftly.

"My name is none of your concern Sir. I will be back with your wine." I said, turning on my heel and walking away from him as fast as I could without drawing attention to myself.

I didn't turn around, not once, but I could feel his eyes on me the entire time.

I grabbed his ridiculously priced bottle, very thankful that it was Eric at the bar and not Lauren. I returned to his table.

As I walked back to him, I focused my attention on anything but him. I did not dare make eye contact with him not once, I could not bear to look at him and his arrogance. I know for sure I would have ended up pouring the bottle over his head and not his glass.

Why was I acting like this?

Let's face it, his behavior was no different as to many of the customers that come through here. It is not the first time that one of these assholes has hit on me, and I'm sure it won't be the last.

So why was I so affected by this man?

"Are you ready to order sir?" I asked, trying to keep my tone neutral and to be as polite as possible.

"That depends," he said.

"On what?"

"On whether you are going to look at me when I speak, or if you are going to pretend that you can simply ignore me."

I looked up at him from my pad and paper.

He had the stupidest smile on his face. He was undeniably attractive and I hated myself for thinking so, but I would be stupid if I admitted anything else. However, it was a shame that his beauty was masked by his arrogance.

I didn't have it in me to deal with someone like him today.

I prayed that Mike would not be mad with me, and that I would not tarnish the reputation of the restaurant, but I left. I knew that if I stayed I would have said something that I would no doubt regret later on and I also did not want to embarrass Mike or cause a scene.

"Victoria can you please serve that man over there?" I asked my college.

"Sure. Are you okay Bella?" She asked.

"Yeah, I just don't feel very well. I need to get some fresh air," I lied.

His face fell when Victoria approached him for his order. But he ate his meal, in record time and left. I breathed a sigh of relief when we were no longer in the same room.

How did that man manage to infuriate me so much?

Oh well he is gone now, I thought, and with any luck it would be unlikely I would see him again. If he did come back to Eclipse, well it would be easy to ignore him.

_**~FireFly~**_

Finally I'm home. I breathed a sigh of relief when I closed the door and leaned up against it. I could not wait to have a shower and get in bed. It had been a long day. Lunch was crazy, but dinner was worse. It seems like all the assholes and their stupid mistresses come out at night.

"Hey, how are you?" Rose asked me.

She gave me a warm hug and ushered me to the kitchen.

"Have you eaten anything?"

"I'm not hungry," I said.

Dr. Brandon has me on some new medication that messes with my appetite. One day I want to eat everything in sight and then the next the mere thought of food is enough to make me gag. Not a good thing for someone who works in a restaurant. Mike puts me in the bar on those days, or at the reception. I hate the reception.

"Bella, you have to eat something," she said pushing a plate with some roast chicken and vegetables on it.

I pushed it away unable to look at it.

"Please Rose, you know I can't," I said, hoping she would understand.

"You look dead tired. How about you go have a shower and get in bed."

She tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

I loved Rose. She was the perfect sister-in-law and she was perfect for Emmett. She was loving, caring and nurturing. She made me wish Emmett and I had a mother like her growing up, then maybe things might have turned out different for the both of us.

I left Rose and went up to my room. I suddenly felt hot and clammy. Another side effect of my medication.

I quickly stripped my clothes off, desperate to cool down, and I opened my window as wide as it would go. The cold air felt great on my overheated skin.

I took a moment to calm myself and cool off before I jumped in the shower.

After I stood in front of the mirror staring at myself.

I didn't want to but I couldn't help but hate myself.

I slipped down onto the bathroom floor and brought my knees to my chest.

I hated the fact that I was…me.

I hated that I looked so much like my mother.

I hated that I was sick.

I hated that no matter what, I was going to die.


End file.
